Three KidGlue authors checked out Rockabye Baby CD’s in preparation for our giveaway on Wednesday. Here is what they thought.
MORE LULLABY RENDITIONS OF THE BEATLES BY AKELA TALAMASCA
For those of you unfamiliar with the Rockabye Baby! phenomenon, they are a series of CDs featuring covers of famous rock artists’ music. Currently on offer are albums featuring such groups as Aerosmith, Guns ‘n’ Roses, U2, Radiohead, Bjork, Bob Marley, etc. What makes these CDs different is that each song is rendered as a lullaby sans lyrics.
On top of that, this is music with all corners carefully shaved off and rounded. There are only a few instruments being played, with the dominant sound being a chimey xylophone or keyboard. It’s very quiet and soothing, just what you want for your infant.
However, in my listen-through, I came to be annoyed with the approach they’ve taken. As an adult who knows these songs by heart, I was baffled by the loose interpretations of some of my favorite songs. The methodology to this process is to play the lead melody, with the keyboard playing the role of the lead singer. As such, you would expect the melody to mimic the cadence and syllabic structure of the song, but this is not the case.
As an example, I listened to the “More Lullaby Renditions of the Beatles” disc. As I listened to “Dear Prudence” — easily the most soporific of the lot — I sang along in my head. Yet I would frequently hear the melody insert notes that weren’t there in the original, and/or omit notes that were there. There are even instances of new notes being added, which throws the savvy listener even further off-track. While this might seem to be a minor point, for those of you who revere this music — and will probably hear a lot of it as you play it for your child — it can become a matter of cognitive dissonance.
As a purely help-your-child-sleep product, however, I’d imagine it works as well as any lullaby; perhaps even better, as there are no lyrics for a developing mind to latch onto to keep from falling asleep. You can check out samples from the Rockabye Baby! website to see if it’s for you.
LULLABY RENDITIONS OF AEROSMITH BY CLAIRE REITZ
This week, I got the chance to listen to “Rockabye Baby!: Lullaby Rendition of Aerosmith”. It’s a soundtrack of Aerosmith’s hits done just as it says, in a lullaby fashion and is intended to lull kids to sleep to a tune that’s enjoyable for kids who don’t know the songs and parents that do. The songs have sweet melodies, and even cutesier with bells, frogs, rattles and other sound effects. There is something eerie though, about playing “Ragdoll” to put your child to sleep, especially when you want to sing along, but the lyrics are “hot tramp, daddy’s little cutie” and so on. I personally would be wary to play this for my kids, just like any other mainstream music, weather the words are in the version or not.
On a plus side, it will definitely make any kid nod off. I came close to dozing off a few times myself. There are some sweet songs as well, such as “Angel”, “ Cryin’”, and “I Don’t’ Want to Miss a Thing”. So, if you’re looking for music that your child will like (and more importantly fall asleep to) and you can stand, it’s worth a listen.
LULLABY RENDITIONS OF QUEEN BY CLAIRE REITZ
“Rockaybe Baby!: Lullaby Renditions of Queen” is a compilation of Queen’s songs performed as lullabies. It has all of the songs that you can think of: “Another One Bites the Dust”, “Under Pressure”, “You’re My Best Friend”, “We Will Rock You”, “We Are the Champions” and of course, “Bohemian Rhapsody”. The main appeal this series is that it’s sweet melody that kids will like, and the fact that they’re classic songs that parents will love, or be able to tolerate at the least.
I have to admit it is a bit odd hearing a soft, child’s version of these songs. It may be due to the fact that the vocals are missing, or just the drums and guitars, that you’re so accustomed to hearing, are also not there. Instead, xylophones, chimes, harps, are used. Overall, it’s an adorable rendition of rock classics. I personally think these songs are so famous and easily recognizable that they’re songs virtually everyone likes. That was the most appealing aspect of this CD for me. I know I would be able to listen to this over and over (because that’s what kids do) and not get sick of it any time soon.
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